Long carries Siena, then gets carried

LOUDONVILLE – Siena men’s basketball coach Jimmy Patsos held up a copy of the newspaper at Tuesday’s practice. He showed a picture of freshman forward Lavon Long, a look of elation on his face, being hoisted on the students’ shoulders after beating Penn State in the quarterfinals of the College Basketball Invitation on Monday.

“This is good for Lavon Long,’’ Patsos said. “You get in coaching to see young men be this happy. I knew Lavon was looking for something extra and I think he found it because of the fans, the fan base, the arena.”

Long said the ride was shaky, but enjoyable.

“Actually, the first time, they only had one leg, so I was sideways,’’ Long said. “So they picked me up again. It was kind of fun the first time.”

Long is a significant reason why Siena is getting ready to face Illinois State in the semifinals tonight at Times Union Center. He had a career-high 17 points in the win over the Nittany Lions, his 6-foot-6, 234-pound frame giving the Saints someone who could physically match up with a Big Ten opponent at small forward.

Patsos pointed out that Long’s mother, Lisa, played for Iowa in the Big Ten.

“Lavon’s got it in his blood to play Big Ten and I appreciate that,’’ Patsos said. “Most of the ‘3’ men (small forwards) in the MAAC are guards … Lavon’s really a power 3, so that was our advantage (against) Penn State. That’s not always the advantage in the MAAC.”

Informed of Patsos’ compliment, Long responded, “I don’t know if I’m a Big Ten player. I’m just a basketball player like any other person.’’

Long was asked if Penn State was a good match-up for him.

“In some ways, yes in other ways no,’’ Long said. “They play kind of dirty, I wasn’t expecting that. But other than that, it’s cool. It’s fun.”

Illinois State will present different match-up challenges tonight because the Redbirds are projected to start a four-guard lineup.